I love fancy dress parties. I’ve been planning my Halloween costumes about six months in advance for as long as I can remember, and I’m always first to sign up for a competition if there’s a ‘best dressed’ trophy up for grabs. The idea of pretending to be someone else for a night – or three if we’re talking Halloweekend – is something that brings me great joy. It’s creative and it’s cathartic, it’s an opportunity to be sexy or be silly (or both at the same time), to show off or to blend in, or to let loose while under the pretence that it’s technically someone else who’s embarrassing themself right now.

“It’s an opportunity let loose under the pretence that it’s technically someone else who’s embarrassing themself right now”

Michaelmas is always rife with fancy dress parties, and, as a seasoned veteran who’s had both many a costuming success and her fair share of epic failures, I’ve written a comprehensive guide to Cambridge costume parties. Now you too can learn to reach your full fancy dress potential this term.

The Preparation

• Get on Pinterest: It may seem obvious, but Pinterest is the place to be for costume inspiration. If you’re not into aesthetic, instagrammable costumes: don’t fret! American toddler mums who take Halloween way too seriously basically rule Pinterest. I’m sure that somewhere out there there’s an in-depth tutorial on how to DIY giant M&M costumes for you and all your friends, if that’s what floats your boat.

• Keep it timeless or super relevant; avoid the in-between: A good costume is one that’s instantly recognisable. A helpful rule of thumb is that if it takes more than one sentence to explain who you’re dressed as, then you’re doing it wrong.

• Group costumes are your friend: If there’s one thing better than looking stupid on your own, it’s looking stupid with your friends. A slightly underwhelming costume can blow people’s socks off when it comes as part of a package deal, and there’s nothing quite like the bonding experience of negotiating who in the friend group gets to be which Teletubby and why.

The Equipment

“Don’t buy something new unless you know you’re going to use it again in the future”

• Something old: Use what you have! One of the best ways to come up with costume ideas is to crank open those wardrobe doors and take inspiration from the clothes you already own. Those white Gogo boots that you bought to go and see Harry Styles two years ago are just begging to be dusted off and made into the centrepiece of your next ABBA/Bee Gees/Barbie/sexy space alien costume.

• Something new: If you must buy something new, the importance of versatility is something which I cannot stress enough. Learn from my mistakes: last Halloween I went as Freddie Mercury in the ‘I Want to Break Free’ music video and I haven’t been able to reuse a single thing I bought since (seriously, if anyone has any ideas about what on earth I’m supposed to do with a toy hoover, I would be eternally grateful).

• Some staples that might be worth buying if you don’t have them already are a white button-up shirt - useful for a pirate, Mia Wallace, Britney Spears, James Bond, MIB, Wednesday Addams, a French waiter, the list goes on – and an ambiguous wig. My favourite is a black bob with a fringe, which can be used for Snow White, Mia Wallace (again), Claudia Winkleman, Edna Mode, Lydia Deetz, Dora the Explorer etc. A gun (fake, obviously) and a cowboy hat are the only two props you need. Anything else can be DIYed.

• Something borrowed: Again, don’t buy something new unless you know you’re going to use it again in the future. The biggest sense of achievement comes from the costumes you had to beg, steal and borrow for. If you’re lucky enough to be well endowed with a large collection of fancy dress items, always be generous with what you have. You never know when you might need someone else to return the favour and, besides, you might look like a bit of an idiot when the only reason you’re the best-dressed person at the party is because nobody else had anything to wear.

• Something pink: There’s always a pink party lurking around the corner when you least expect it. Don’t let it catch you by surprise.

The Execution

• Know your crowd: A costume which turned heads at a Halloween queer night might not fly at Wednesday Revs, and that one niche historical figure you once went as to a subject social probably won’t make sense to anyone at your friend’s birthday party. Have a good think about who will appreciate which references: you don’t want all of that effort you put into your Nikola Tesla costume to be for nothing.

• Pres are essential: You can’t show up at the function dressed as a giant piece of cheese without first having had the reassurance of your friends and possibly a few drinks to ensure that you don’t bottle it.

Final Thoughts:

At the end of the day, fancy dress is about having fun, so feel free to discard all of this advice and wear whatever you want. Just make sure that whatever you do, don’t be yourself!